Railway-switch.



Patented Nov. 26, |90I.

A. A. RUTH.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

(Application filed Aug. 19, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

No. 687,462. Patented Nov. 26, I90l. A. A. RUTH.

lRAILWAY SWITCH.

(Applcat'iun led Aug. 19, 1901.1 (un Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

PETERS #Haro-Litho.. WASMINGTGN, D c.

NITED STATES ALICE A. ROTH, OF BUFFALO, NEIV YORK.

RAILWAY- SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,462, dated November 26, 1901.

Application filed August 19, 1901. Serial No. 72,469. (No model T0 all whom t muy concern:

Be it known that I, ALICE A. ROTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of rail-` way-switches which are designed more especially for use on street-railways and which are thrown by trip devices carried by the car and operated by the motorman without the necessity of leaving the platform or stopping the car.

The object of my invention is to provide an efficient switch of this character which is simple in construction, easy of operation, and not liable to get out of order.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is a sectional top plan view of a portion of a railway provided with my improved switch. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section in line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section in line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in line/i 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a railway-car, showing the construction and arrangement of one of the trip-levers. Fig. G is a sectional top plan view of a modified construction of the switch. Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the switch-casing with its top removed to expose the switch-operating mechanism. Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical section in line 8 8, Fig. G.

Like letters of reference referto like parts in the several figures.

A A represent the rails of the main track, B B those of the siding or branch track, and B2 the usual guard-rail arranged adjacent tov the main rail A.

C represents a pivoted switch-tongue located at the inner side of the curve and having its free end arranged between the adjoining portions of the guard-rail B2 and the side rail B in the usual manner. The adjacent portions of the side rail B and guard-rail B2 are offset or recessed, as shown at d, Fig. 1, to receive the free end of the switch-tongue in the customary manner. As shown in Figs.

1, 2, and 3, the switch-tongue is supported` upon the horizontal top plate of a `box or platform c, placed between the adjacent portions of the main rail A, side rail B, and guard-rail B2.

F. E are horizontally-swingingl shifting arms or levers arranged on opposite sides of the main and guard rails A B2 and adapted to engage against the sides of the switchtongue C for throwing the same into one or the other position. In the construction shown in the drawings these shifting-arms are secured at one end to vertical pivots e, located at that side of the switch toward which the free vend of the switch tongue faces. As shown in Fig. 3, the pivots e are journaled in bearings arranged in suitable casings F, which are placed below the switch flush with the surface of the pavement and which inclose parts of the switch-operating devices.

The shif tin g-arms E F.' are provided at their free ends with heads or enlargements e', having projections or salient portions e2 at their front or inner sides, which pass through notches or recesses g, formed in the top of the opposing side and guard rails B B2, and which are adapted to bear against opposite sides of the switch-tongue, preferably near its free end.

Both of the shifting-arinsE E are preferably held in their retracted position out of contact with the switch-tongue by suitable retracting devices, such as return-springs H. These sprin gs are fastened at their outer ends to the sidewalls of the casings F and at their opposite ends to horizontal return-arms I, secured to the pivots c of the shifting-arms, so that the springs tend to swing these arms outwardly through the medium of the returnarms I. As shown in Fig. 3, these return-arms are arranged below the top of the casings F. The rear or outer sides of the shifting-arms E E are straight, and when the arms are in their retracted position their straight rear sides lie obliquely or at anangleto the maintrack rails, as shown` by full lines in Fig. 1. In this posit-ion vthe shiftingarms extend across the path of the trip devices J, carried by the railway-car, so that upon lowering one of these ltrip devices it strikes the corresponding shifting-arm E or E', thereby swinging the latter inwardly to the dotted position shown in Fig. 1 and causing it to throw the switch-f tongue accordingly. A separate trip device is provided for each shifting-arm, and these IOO devices may be of any suitable or well-known construction. The preferred devices shown in the drawings consist of upright foot-levers l pivotcd to the car-truck by transverse pivots;

. arms E E when the upper arms of the levers Jare swung in a forward direction sufficiently for this pu rposc. The'upper arms of these levers pass freely through longitudinal slots or openings 7c, formedin the car-platform. The upper arms of the trip-levers normally stand in a rearwardlyinclined position, as shown by full lines in Fig. 5, so that when the upper arms of the levers are swung forwardly for depressing their lower arms the upper arms assume a substantially vertical position, as shown by dotted lines in said figure, in which position the levers are unaiected b v the vertical vibrations of the car-body. The triplevers are returned to their inoperative position by suitable springs Z. f

m represents guide-rails arranged parallel with the main rails and havingtheirouter vertical sides inline with the rear sides of the shifting-arms E E', so that upon lowering one of the trip-levers J it runs along the outer side of the adjacent guide-rail and thence along the rearside of the shifting-arm. These guiderails extend forwardly some distance beyond the pivots of the shifting-arms in order to cause the trip-levers to engage the arms at a distance from their fulcrums for obtaining a` more favorable leverage upon the same. As shown in Fig. 1, the rear sidesof the shiftingarms are recessed to receive the adjacent portions of the guide-rails m.

The pivot-openings in the arms E E prefusual manner. The forward movement of either of the shifting-arms E E causes the corresponding spring II to be strained, and as soon as the trip device of the car clearsthe shifting-arm the latter is retracted to its former position by the react-ion of its spring. To insure the retraction of the shifting-arms E E in case their springs H should become weak or inoperative, the head of each arm is preferably provided at its front edge with oblique faces or cams n fn', which recede in opposite directions from the salient central portion e2 of the head, as shown in Fig. l. If the head of one of the shifting-arms should project across the path of the carwheels, the foremost wheel will strike and run along the adjacent cam-face n or n' of said head, according to the direction in which the car is running, and thereby deflect the shifting-arm aside, this deflecting action taking place whether the car approaches the switch in one or the other direction or runs from the main to the branch track, or vice versa.

The usual flanged heads of the rails are not wholly cut away in forming the recesses g; but the latter are only of sufficient depth to receive the shifting-levers E, so as to leave the lower portion of said head-danges. These unremoved portions form supports or bridges upon which the flanges of the car-wheels run in passing over the recessed portions of the rails, thereby preventing jarring and pounding of the Wheels at the breaks in the rails formed by said recesses.

In the modified construction of the switch shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 a single shiftingarm E2 is employed forthrowing the switchtongue C in one direction, and the tongue is 5o jacent guide-rail fm and the back of the correerably do not extend through the upper sides of the arms, but are formed by downwardlyopening sockets e3 on the arms, which receive and cover the pivots e, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby preventing leakage of water through the pivot-openings, which would otherwise be liable to occur.

When the switch is set for the main track and it is desired to run the car upon the branch track, the motorman on approaching the switch lowers the ou ter or left-hand trip-lever Jof the car. Thislevernow runs along the adspondingshifting-arm E and swings the latter forwardly, causing it to throw the switchtongue to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. l. If the switch is set for the branch track and the motorman desires to run the car along the main line in the direction of the arrow,

Fig. l, he lowers the inner or right-hand triplever J, whereupon this lever swings the inner shifting-arm E toward the other shiftingarm E and throws the switch-tongue in the same direction, setting the same for the main track. When a car runs from the branch to the main track or approaches the switch on the main track in the direction contrary to that of the arrowin Fig. l, the switch-tongue is deflected aside by the car-wheels in the thrown in the opposite direction by a spring H. 1n this case the tongue is secured to a rocking pivot e4, which is provided below the top of the casing F with an arm o, and the spring H is attached at its ends to this arm and the casing, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the spring holds the switch-tongue in position for directing the car along the main track. This construction requires but a single trip device J on the car. The shifting-arm E2 in this case bearsagainst the outer side of the switchtongue and passes througha notch g of the adjacent rail, as in the first-described construction. In the use of this modified switch the same is normally set for the main track,

yand when it is desired to run upon the side or branch track the motorman depresses the trip device on approaching the switch, causing the shifting-arm E2 to be swung forwardly and throwing the switch-tongue to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6. In this construction the shifting-arm must be of suficient length to allow the front wheel of the rear car-truck to engage the point of the tongue before the rear wheel of the front truck clears the tongue.

I claim as my inventionl. In a switch-operating` mechanism, the combination with main and side tracks and IOO IIO

a movable switch-tongue, of a rigid horizontally-swim ging shifting-lever arranged lengthwise of the switch-tongue and having its pivot located beyond the point of the tongue, the rear side of the shifting-lever lying normally in an oblique position with reference to the main track and its free front end being arranged to bear against the side of the tongue near its point, and means for effecting the return stroke of the shifting-lever, substantially as set forth.

2. In a switch-operating mechanism, the combination with a track-rail provided in the upper surface of its head with a recess extending only partly into the head, for leaving a bridge or support for the wheel-anges opposite said recess, of a movable switchtongue arranged adjacent to said recess, and a .horizontally-swinging shifting-lever ar ranged to pass through said recess and en-` gage against the switch-tongue, substantially as set forth.

3. Ina switch-operating mechanism, the combination with main and side tracks and a switch-tongue, of opposing horizontal shifting-levers arranged lengthwise on opposite sides of the tongue and each provided at its front edge with a retracting-cam arranged to be engaged by a trip device on the car, the adjacent track-rails having recesses for the passage of said shifting-levers, and returnsprings operating upon said shifting-levers, substantially as set forth.

4. In a railway-switch, the combination of a main and a side track, a pivoted switchtongue, horizontal shifting arms or levers arranged to bear against opposite sides of the switch-tongue and each mounted upon a rock` 6. The combination of a railway having a u movable switch-tongue,- a car having an ap' erture in its platform, and a trip-lever mount` ed uponone of the car-trucks and adapted to engage said switch-tongue, the upper or actuating arm of said lever passing freely through the aperture of the car-platform and being arranged to stand normally in a rearwardly-inclined position, substantially as set forth.

VVit-ness my hand this 14th day of August, 1901.

ALICE A. ROTH.l

Witnesses:

PEARL M. ROTH, CARL F. GEYER. 

